Tips to attract dental patients from Google’s ‘Near Me’ search

Fact: “near me” searches have increased more than 30% since 2011 (Google). When people find service providers on smartphones, Google automatically assumes they are looking for something near their location. Search results then display providers that are usually located within a 5-mile radius of the searcher’s current location. This makes it critical for all dentists who want to attract dental patients from their search listing.

If your dental practice is in that circle, you should aim to part of those search results. This is important as 50% of local searches result in a patient visit or appointment being made within 24 hours. Although there are many factors that influence your website’s ranking on search engines, here are a few ways you can improve your chances of being displayed and attract dental patients to your practice:

Optimize your Google My Business listing

When prospective patients search for keywords like “Best dental practice” on Google, the search engine scans through Google My Business listings for dental practices within the vicinity of the searcher. If your listing on Google My Business has the right keywords, your chances of getting a higher search rank increase. You also want to ensure that your practice’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) is correct on.

In addition to Google My Business, you should check your listing on other sites and directories to avoid inconsistencies. When your listings differ across sites, Google doesn’t trust your information enough to display it in results. Even multiple phone numbers that are valid but vary across directories raise a red flag for Google. This can also lower your search ranking and put an end to your efforts to attract dental patients.

Create a mobile-friendly website

If a prospective patient is searching on a smartphone, Google’s results are going may only show mobile-friendly sites. Having a mobile-enabled site also improves the customer experience for people who find you online while using their phones. This will also help you attract dental patients to your practice. However, not having one means that you are practically invisible to anyone searching for you with their smartphone.

Build a stellar online reputation

Google wants its users to have a rewarding internet search experience by listing the best service providers. One way they do that is by looking at customer reviews on hundreds of websites where your practice is getting reviewed.

This makes having a great online reputation critical to rank higher in search results. A great way to build this reputation is by consistently getting new reviews from patients and sharing the best ones on your social media pages to reach a wider audience. Learn how BirdEye can help you do this automatically.

Additionally, promptly responding to reviews, both positive and negative, will help you maintain control over your online reputation and understand what you need to improve.

Generate local content for your community

For search engine algorithms, your social presence is an important factor. You can improve it by creating local content, such as location-based blog posts, press releases and articles. Then, go a step further by sharing this content to your social media profiles.

You can also take part in local events and support local causes that will list you on their websites. If the sites and programs mention the name of the community in which you practice, search engines will see this as further proof of your involvement in the local area and this signals them to improve your ranking in local search results.

Having a solid online reputation and optimizing your business listing to cater to local patients can help you rank higher in local search results and get more patients for your dental practice. BirdEye helps dentists with all of these, including checking for discrepancies in online business listings and fixing them, getting more positive reviews and amplifying them across the web, and helping you stand out in local search results. To see for yourself, you can sign up for afree trial and explore all the ways BirdEye can help you attract dental patients to your practice.

About the author

Anupam Jolly

Anupam is a Reputation Management and Customer Experience specialist at BirdEye with over a decade of experience in digital marketing. Expert in driving traffic growth through organic channels like SEO and social media.